This year, philanthropist Bill Gates begins his annual open letter by pointing out that, by any measure, the world is better than it’s ever been.

“You might think that such striking progress would be widely celebrated, but in fact, Melinda and I are struck by how many people think the world is getting worse,” Gates writes. “The belief that the world can’t solve extreme poverty and disease, isn’t just mistaken. It is harmful.”

Gates dedicates his 2014 philanthropic agenda to dismantling the three myths that prevent global progress toward eradicating poverty and disease: